A Heartless Angel
by BertieTodd
Summary: Namine comes looking for Roxas, but finds someone entirely different at the Castle.


A Heartless Angel

Milky light covered the dawn. Birds sang their good-morning to all of Twilight Town below. A young man sat alone atop the tallest building in the city, which was the golden clock tower. Axel—that was his name—figured it a futile effort to try and sleep that night, so instead, he found himself watching as sunrise cracked the horizon. His vibrant scarlet hair mimicked the rising sun. Closing his teal eyes to absorb the perfect still of the moment, Axel breathed in deeply and smiled, flashing a set of pointy white teeth. The sun was beginning to warm the calm air around him, so Axel shrugged off his coat and removed his black gloves. It was rare that daylight saw his pale shoulders; he would surely regret exposing his skin like this when in infallibly burned.

As a fire elemental, he was used to getting a bit toasted, though it still managed to hurt. There were many downsides to (somewhat) controlling fire, he pondered, like accidentally setting his companions ablaze, or occasionally reducing a piece of furniture to ashes. However, it was this un-tameable nature the element that drew him toward it. Axel was what one might call a pyromaniac. There was no reasoning with him when a burning flame was anywhere nearby. He gave a characteristic half-sided smirk at this thought. Deciding it was time to return to the castle, he rose to his feet and brushed the dust off of his coat, putting it back on. He wondered how his friend Roxas was doing on his latest mission. The boss said it would be a couple of days before the younger boy returned. Axel imagined it would be a rather boring wait. Typically, the two would hang out with their other friend, Xion, meeting up to eat sea salt ice cream after every mission. The clock tower was the usual meet-up spot. It was quite lonely today, though Axel was fond of solitude. At that moment, the quiet was overwhelming.

"Oh, hello there!" A honey-sweet voice interrupted his silent reflections. He turned in surprise to see a thin blonde girl in a simple white dress.

"Uh, hi?" he replied, confused that she had suddenly appeared before him. She shyly waved in his direction and blinked, her innocent blue eyes opening and closing softly.

"I'm Namine." she explained, her tone warmer than the new sun, "I used to be friends with Roxas...before. I just wanted to see if he remembered me."

It was odd; Axel thought he detected sadness in her sugar-and-honey voice. But that was impossible for a Nobody. He could tell that, like him, she had survived the Darkness, but had lost her heart. Nobodies couldn't feel emotions; they needed hearts for that, and yet the girl seemed to be quite expressive.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Roxas is on a mission. I'm Axel, by the way." he casually said.

"Oh." she pouted, "I guess I'll just wait for him, then." She sat beside him on the ledge of the clock tower, daintily crossing her smooth, graceful legs. The tip of her powder-blue sandals nearly touched the number 12 atop the clock.

"It might be a while." Axel said, setting his hand next to her on the railing.

"That's fine. So, Axel, why're you up so early?" she asked, trying to begin a friendly conversation. Inexplicably, the redhead's entire body tightened sharply, forcing him to gasp for air like a fish out of water. The way she said his name!

"Are you okay?" she asked, angel-voice full of genuine concern. She picked up his hand in her own tiny fingers, an innocent gesture in her mind, yet so much more than that to Axel.

"Yeah—doin' good. Doin' fine!" he squeaked, obviously lying, "You caught me off guard."

"With my question?" she asked doubtfully. That was when she noticed that his wild eyes were focused directly on her.

"Nah," he said, as though in a trance, "just...you." Namine blushed deeply, her porcelain skin reddening like little apples on her cheeks. Axel realized what he had said and coughed awkwardly, changing the subject. "So, how d'you know Roxas?"

"He used to be Sora, when he was a Somebody. I was Kairi, then, and we were...friends. Anyway, when the Darkness came, it almost killed him. Somehow, I was able to save him by giving him my heart. In the end, when both became Nobodies. I know he has no memories of before, but I'm working on getting them back."

Axel had been listening intently the entire time, unable to believe that anyone could be so selfless as to give up her own heart. _This girl must be an angel_, he thought.

"What do you mean, 'working on'?" wondered Axel. He kept watching as her nimble fingers tied and untied the white ribbon around her wrist.

"I have power over memories." she explained. Axel stared as her bubble-gum pink lips formed each word. He breathed in the scent of her floral perfume. Every aspect of this new girl was awe-inspiring to him.

"Mine's fire." As he said the words, his voice cracked nervously. Namine giggled, her laugh like birdsong. The young man sighed, completely love-drunk. His eyes were glazed over with a fantasizing expression, and his mind was far away. "Are you an angel?" he asked lamely. Namine blushed again, scooting nearer to him, so their thighs were touching.

"No, I'm not an angel." she laughed, "Why do you ask?"

"You seem so...real." he answered, remembering her display of emotion earlier. Gently, she took his hand and placed it over where her heart would have been.

"See? Nothing." she whispered. Axel's stomach tried to tie itself into a thousand knots, his brain getting all sorts of ideas. He held his palm against her chest for some time, enjoying the warmth of her skin. It was regrettable that she would soon leave, once she got a chance to talk with Roxas. Suddenly, a brilliant idea hit him.

"You should join the Organization!" he declared, startling Namine slightly. "We could do missions and stuff!"

"I-I don't know. Memories don' make very good weapons, do they?"

"You could always fight with a real weapon instead of your power." he suggested. "All you need now is a long black coat."

"I suppose that would be okay...it does feel kinda lonely at my old house."

Axel gave her a puzzled look. "Well, that's a neat trick, considering loneliness is an emotion."

"Maybe it was just wishful thinking." she said, shaking her head. The redhead stood up, offering her a hand. "I've gotta mission to do, so I'll see ya round, okay?"

"Should I see if I can have one, too?" Namine questioned, her lovely voice taking on a childlike tone.

"I think that's a perfect idea." he agreed, taking her hand and pulling her along into a purple portal. In a matter of seconds, they arrived at the castle. He grabbed some assorted items in a black bag, which he tucked under his coat. "Okay, rendezvous at the clock tower?"

"Sure!" answered the girl, more determined than ever, now that she had a mission of her own.

"For you." Axel opened another portal for her, holding his hand out in a gentlemanly fashion. The small girl stepped forth into a new world.

Wanting to finish as quickly as possible, Axel disappeared into his own cloud. His mission today was to seek out a giant Heartless in the desert. _This won't be too hard_, he figured, casually sauntering into the midst of danger. Before him, the scene was set for his grand entrance. _Piece of cake,_ he thought, watching as an enormous metal beast rose suddenly out of the sand. Its many gears creaked loudly as it approached him.

Out of nowhere, a pale silhouette revealed itself, diving fearlessly onto the machine-monster.

"Namine? What are you doing her?" Axel yelled, trying in vain to distract the Heartless.

"I've got this, Axel!" she proclaimed, flinging a heavy-looking bronze sword in its direction. Unfazed, the creature shot a strong bolt of explosives at the fragile girl, throwing her to the ground, unconscious.

"NOOOOOO!" Every muscle in Axel's slender body tightened at once, an intense burning igniting the blood in his veins. No one touched _**his**_ Namine and survived. A liquid fire surrounded him in a circle of wild heat. All that was visible were his angry eyes, cool teal against his hot rage. The Heartless didn't simply fade; it melted into a metallic fluid, evaporating into the silver sand. As the fire died down, and Axel regained some degree of control, he ran over to the fallen angel.

"Namine? Oh, come on! Wake up!" he cried desperately. In a single motion, he gracefully picked her up in his arms, transporting her immediately back to the castle. Ignoring the questioning looks of his companions, the redhead set her gently upon the pillows of his messy bed. Grabbing a potion, he attempted to spoon-feed it to her, but she couldn't swallow.

Terrified and impatient, he paced the length of his room. Why is it she could do this to him—make him feel fear and anxiety—when nothing else could? She had to get better, she just _had_ to. After what must have been hours, Axel fell asleep in a chair beside the bed. It was some time before he awoke from sweet dreams of Namine.

"Axel...?" she mumbled, baby-blue eyes flickering open.

"YOU"RE ALIVE!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, embracing her unexpectedly in a crushing hug. He sat on the bed, simply holding her in his arms.

"Axel...come closer..." she whimpered feebly. Obliging, he leaned in, and was caught in a mind-bending kiss. Her soft lips were delicious against his hungry mouth, causing him to nearly die of pure pleasure. She tasted of sugar, and he, of sea salt ice cream. Tongues danced together in a perfect harmony of unbottled lust.

The sudden kiss came to a slow end, both needing to come up for air.

"Thanks for saving my life." she said breathlessly.

"Anytime," he replied, still in disbelief, "I'm sorry you got hurt, though."

"Just a little bruised...everywhere." she stuttered, rubbing her arms.

"Can I kiss it and make it better?" he asked deviously, his signature smirk gracing his lips once again.

"I wouldn't have it any other way..."


End file.
